Gone With the Wind – Time Rewind

On This Day February 29

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On This Day March 24

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Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, born Ehrich Weisz (d. 1926)

1930 – Actor and auto racer Steve McQueen, nicknamed the “King of Cool” (“The Magnificent Seven,” “The Great Escape,” “The Sand Pebbles,” “Bullitt,” “The Getaway,” “The Towering Inferno”) (d. 1980)

1951 – Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger

1970 – Actress Lara Flynn Boyle (“Twin Peaks,” “The Practice,” “Men In Black II”)

1973 – Emmy-winning actor Jim Parsons (“Garden State,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Hidden Figures”)

1974 – Actress Alyson Hannigan (“American Pie,” “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “How I Met Your Mother”)

1976 – Retired star NFL quarterback and actor Peyton Manning, who set records for most career passing yards and most career passing touchdowns while playing for the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos

History Highlights

1965 – NASA’s Ranger 9 spacecraft beams the first video images of the moon down to Earth before making a planned crash-landing on the lunar surface.

1977 – For the first time since severing diplomatic relations in 1961, Cuba and the U.S. enter into direct negotiations when the two nations discuss fishing rights.

1989 – The tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound off Alaska and spills 11 million gallons of crude oil into one of nature’s richest habitats, eventually contaminating 1,300 miles of coastline. This was the largest oil spill in U.S. waters until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico caused a 168-million-gallon spill.

1996 – Astronaut Shannon Lucid begins the first full day of a five-month stay aboard the Russian space station Mir. She transfers from the space shuttle Atlantis, becoming the first female American astronaut to live on a space station.

2002 – Halle Berry becomes the first African-American performer to win a Best Actress Oscar (for “Monster’s Ball”) and only the second African-American actress ever to be honored by the Academy (the first was Hattie McDaniel, who won for her supporting role in 1939’s “Gone With the Wind”).

Musical Milestones

1958 – Elvis Presley swaps his blue suede shoes for military boots as he reports for duty in U.S. Army as a private at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. The King achieves the rank of sergeant in February 1960, and a month later, is honorably discharged from active duty at the age of 25.

1962 – Bruce Channel wraps up his three-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “Hey! Baby.”

1973 – “Love Train” by the O’Jays steams its way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1979 – The Bee Gees have the No. 1 single on the radio with “Tragedy,” off their “Spirits Having Flown” album.

1986 – Howard Jones releases “No One Is To Blame” in the U.S. It goes on to become his biggest-selling single.

1992 – A class-action lawsuit against Milli Vanilli’s record label is resolved when a judge approves a plan to refund up to $3 to everyone who bought the pop duo’s music before November 27, 1990 — the date they admitted to not actually singing their songs. Fans who bought tickets to a Milli Vanilli concert could claim a rebate of up to $2.50.

2001 – One-hit-wonder Crazy Town has the No. 1 single for a week with “Butterfly,” which features a sample of “Pretty Little Ditty” from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

On This Day December 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1832 – Engineer Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Paris landmark that bears his name (d. 1923)

1892 – Industrialist J. Paul Getty, who built his fortune as president of the Getty Oil Company (d. 1976)

1933 – Emmy-winning comedian Tim Conway (“McHale’s Navy,” “The Carol Burnett Show”) (d. 2019)

1942 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Dave Clark of the 1960s beat group The Dave Clark Five

1949 – Actor Don Johnson, best known for his role as detective Sonny Crockett in the 1980s hit TV crime drama series “Miami Vice”

1963 – Actress Helen Slater (“Supergirl,” “Ruthless People,” “The Secret of My Success,” “City Slickers”)

History Highlights

1791 – Following ratification by the state of Virginia, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, become the law of the land.

1939 – The motion picture classic “Gone With the Wind,” starring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh, premieres in Atlanta. The film goes on to capture 10 Academy Awards.

1961 – Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer considered to be the architect of the Holocaust, is condemned to death by an Israeli war crimes tribunal.

1966 – Animation pioneer Walt Disney, who built an entertainment empire around a cartoon mouse, dies at the age of 65. The visionary creator of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck produced some of Hollywood’s greatest hits, conceived Disneyland and Disney World and was one of world’s most beloved storytellers.

1973 – Jean Paul Getty III, the grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, five months after his kidnapping by an Italian gang.

1993 – “Schindler’s List,” from director Steven Spielberg, opens, starring Liam Neeson as German businessman Oskar Schindler, who saves the lives of over a thousand Jews during the Holocaust. The movie wins seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

2001 – Italy’s iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after a team of experts spends 11 years and $27 million to fortify the historic landmark without eliminating its famous lean.

2011 – The U.S. marks the end of the war in Iraq with a low-key ceremony in Baghdad eight years after the American-led invasion of that nation. Despite the declaration, violence intensifies there over the next several years.

Musical Milestones

1943 – Jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer and comedic entertainer Fats Waller dies of pneumonia while traveling by train near Kansas City, Missouri. Waller wrote many songs, including “Ain’t Misbehavin'” and “Your Feet’s Too Big.”

1944 – Overseas to entertain U.S troops during World War II, legendary bandleader Glenn Miller takes off from England en route to France, but his plane vanishes over the English Channel. The beloved 40-year-old musician is never seen again.

1973 – Charlie Rich dominates the singles chart for two weeks with “The Most Beautiful Girl.”

1979 – “Babe,” by Styx, enjoys its second and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the Chicago-based band’s first and only chart-topper.

1984 – Hall & Oates begin a second and final week at No. 1 with “Out of Touch,” off their “Big Bam Boom” album.

1988 – “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown, begins serving time in a South Carolina prison following a series of run-ins with the law that summer for which he was convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill and other criminal charges.

1990 – “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” by Stevie B, is midway through a four-week ride on top of the pop chart, becoming the last No. 1 single of 1990.

2001 – Usher lays claim to the top spot on the singles chart with “U Got It Bad” from his “8701” album.” The track holds at No. 1 for a week.

On This Day November 8

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Celebrity Birthdays

1847 – Bram Stoker, author of the legendary horror novel “Dracula” (d. 1912)

1900 – Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell (d. 1949)

1927 – 1950s pop sensation Patti Page (“Tennessee Waltz,” “(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window,” “Old Cape Cod”) (d. 2013)

1931 – CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent Morley Safer (d. 2016)

1949 – Grammy-winning blues-rock singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt (“Something to Talk About,” “Love Sneakin’ Up on You,” “I Can’t Make You Love Me”)

1950 – Mary Hart, born Mary Johanna Harum, who hosted the syndicated TV show “Entertainment Tonight” for nearly 30 years

1952 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Alfre Woodard (“Hill Street Blues,” “St. Elsewhere,” “Passion Fish,” “Crooklyn,” “How to Make an American Quilt,” “Miss Evers’ Boys,” “The Practice,” “12 Years a Slave”)

1961 – 1970s teen heartthrob Leif Garrett (“Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer,” “I Was Made For Dancin”)

1968 – Actress Parker Posey (“Kicking and Screaming,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “The Daytrippers,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Scream 3,” “Superman Returns,” “Irrational Man,” “Café Society”)

History Highlights

1895 – German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovers the X-ray, a scientific advancement that would revolutionize the fields of physics and medicine. He is awarded the first Nobel Prize in physics in 1901 for his discovery.

1939 – Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler survives an attempted assassination when the bomb intended to kill him during a speech at a Munich beer hall goes off 13 minutes after he leaves the building.

1960 – At age 43, John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest man ever and the first Catholic to be elected president of the United States, as he narrowly defeats Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy’s first term is cut short when an assassin guns him down three years later as his motorcade passes through downtown Dallas, Texas.

1965 – A new soap opera hits American television. It’s “Days of Our Lives” on NBC. Still on the air today, it is one of the longest-running scripted TV programs in the world.

1966 – Actor Ronald Reagan, who goes on to become the 40th U.S. president, is elected governor of California. He defeats Democratic incumbent Pat Brown by nearly a million votes.

1978 – The world mourns the death of artist Norman Rockwell at age 84. Rockwell was best known for the cover illustrations he produced for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for nearly 50 years.

Musical Milestones

1969 – “Wedding Bell Blues,” by The 5th Dimension, begins three weeks as a No. 1 single. Written by Laura Nyro, it is the band’s second chart-topping hit.

1975 – Elton John’s “Rock of the Westies” debuts at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart — the same thing that happened with his “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” album six months earlier.

1975 – David Bowie makes his American television debut on the “Cher” variety show on CBS. He performs “Fame” as well as a medley with Cher that includes “Young Americans.”

1980 – Bruce Springsteen’s double LP, “The River,” flows to the top of the Billboard album chart, where it remains for four weeks. Among the work’s 20 tracks is “Hungry Heart,” The Boss’ first No. 1 single.

1986 – Boston has its first and only No. 1 single with “Amanda,” off the rock band’s “Third Stage” album, which was actually recorded in 1980. The power ballad holds the top spot for two weeks.

1997 – Elton John’s tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales — “Candle in the Wind 1997” — continues its 14-week ride at the top of the singles chart.

2008 – AC/DC begin two weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with “Black Ice,” the band’s 15th studio album. While the album garners a Grammy nomination, it’s the track “War Machine” that actually captures a Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy — AC/DC’s first-ever Grammy Award.

On This Day November 5

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Celebrity Birthdays

1911 – American singer, cowboy and actor Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye and known as the “King of the Cowboys” (d. 1998)

1913 – Actress Vivian Leigh (“Gone With the Wind,” “A Streetcar Named Desire”) (d. 1967)

1931 – R&B singer-songwriter Ike Turner who had a string of hits with then-wife Tina Turner (d. 2007)

1940 – Golden Globe-winning actress Elke Sommer (“The Prize,” “A Shot in the Dark,” “The Art of Love,” “The Oscar,” “Boy, Did I Get the Wrong Number”)

1941 – Singer-songwriter Art Garfunkel, formerly of the Grammy-winning rock-folk duo Simon & Garfunkel

1943 – Pulitzer Prize-winning actor and playwright Sam Shepard (“Days of Heaven,” “Paris, Texas,” “The Right Stuff,” “Country,” “Steel Magnolias”) (d. 2017)

1947 – Peter Noone, born Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone, frontman for the 1960s British pop group Herman’s Hermits

1959 – Grammy-winning rock singer-songwriter Bryan Adams (“Cuts Like a Knife,” “Summer of ’69,” “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”)

1960 – Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton (“Edward II,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “Michael Clayton,” “Burn After Reading,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Doctor Strange”)

1963 – Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal (“Paper Moon,” “The Bad News Bears,” “Nickelodeon,” “Little Darlings”)

1968 – Actor Sam Rockwell (“The Green Mile,” “Galaxy Quest” “Iron Man 2,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “A Single Shot”)

History Highlights

1912 – Democrat Woodrow Wilson is elected the 28th president of the United States in a landslide victory, defeating Republican incumbent William Howard Taft and Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt. It is the only presidential election in American history in which two former presidents were defeated by another candidate.

1940 – Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt is re-elected for an unprecedented third term as president of the United States. He is re-elected again in 1944, which paves the way for ratification of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1951, limiting all future presidents to two elected terms.

1968 – Republican Richard Nixon wins the presidential election, defeating Vice President Hubert Humphrey in one of the closest political races in U.S. history.

1968 – New York Democrat Shirley Chisholm becomes the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She serves for 14 years. In 1972, she becomes the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties.

1994 – Forty-five-year-old George Foreman knocks out 26-year-old Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. More than 12,000 spectators at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas watch Foreman dethrone Moorer, who entered the fight with a 35-0 record.

2007 – A writers strike in New York and Los Angeles interrupts the production of more than 60 television shows and results in the loss of an estimated $3 billion to the LA economy alone. The walkout, by members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), lasts more than three months.

2009 – Thirteen people are killed and more than 30 others are wounded, nearly all of them unarmed soldiers, when a U.S. Army officer goes on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in central Texas. The deadly assault, carried out by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, becomes the worst mass murder at a U.S. military installation.

Musical Milestones

1956 – “The Nat King Cole Show” debuts on NBC as the first network TV series hosted by an African-American. The musical variety show, featuring some of the biggest entertainers of the day, begins as a 15-minute program and eventually expands to half an hour. Thirteen months later, NBC pulls the plug after being unable to find a national sponsor.

1960 – Country-rockabilly artist Johnny Horton, whose Grammy-winning “Battle of New Orleans” topped the singles charts for six weeks in 1959, dies in a car crash.

1966 – The Monkees rule the singles chart for a week with “Last Train to Clarksville.” The track is featured in seven episodes of “The Monkees” TV show, the most for any Monkees song.

1977 – “You Light Up My Life,” by Debby Boone, is in the midst of a 10-week domination of the pop chart.

1988 – “Kokomo,” by The Beach Boys, is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The track is from the movie “Cocktail,” starring Tom Cruise.

1989 – Grammy-winning classical pianist Vladimir Horowitz dies at the age of 86.

1994 – Boyz II Men are in the midst of a 14-week conquest of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’ll Make Love to You.”

2005 – “Gold Digger,” by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx, is a Billboard chart-topper, and remains there for 10 weeks.

On this Day June 30

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Celebrity Birthdays

1917 – Grammy-winning jazz and pop music singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne (d. 2010)

1956 – Actor-comedian David Alan Grier (“In Living Color”)

1959 – Actor Vincent D’Onofrio (“Full Metal Jacket,” “Men In Black,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “The Judge,” “Run All Night,” “Jurassic World”)

1966 – Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson

1982 – Actress Lizzy Caplan (“Mean Girls,” “True Blood,” “Cloverfield”)

1985 – U.S. Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps

History Highlights

1859 – Frenchman Jean Francois Gravelet, a.k.a. The Great Blondin, or Charles Blondin, becomes the first daredevil to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Thousands of spectators line the American and Canadian sides of the falls to observe the feat, which he performs along an 1,100-foot-long tightrope suspended 160 feet above the raging waters of Niagara Gorge.

1934 – In what comes to be known as the Night of the Long Knives, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler orders a bloody purge of his own political party, assassinating hundreds of Nazis whom he believed had the potential to become political enemies in the future.

1936 – Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gone with the Wind,” one of the best-selling novels of all time and the basis for the blockbuster 1939 movie, is published.

1971 – “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory,” a movie musical-fantasy starring Gene Wilder, opens in theaters. It’s an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

1971 – Three Soviet cosmonauts who made up the crew of the world’s first space station are killed when their spacecraft, Soyuz 11, depressurizes during reentry to Earth’s atmosphere.

1974 – The July 4th scene from the movie “Jaws” is filmed on Martha’s Vineyard, with 400 screaming, panic-stricken extras in bathing suits running from the water multiple times until director Steven Spielberg gets the right take.

1989 – Writer-director Spike Lee’s celebrated third feature film, “Do the Right Thing” — about racial tensions boiling over in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on the hottest day of the year — opens in U.S. theaters. The movie receives Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello.

1993 – The legal thriller “The Firm,” directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Gene Hackman, opens in theaters. It’s based on the 1991 novel of the same name by John Grisham.

1995 – Director Ron Howard’s high-intensity drama “Apollo 13,” about NASA’s desperate efforts to bring the crew of Apollo 13 safely home after an explosion that denies them a moon landing, opens in U.S. theaters. Starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise, the movie receives nine Oscar nominations and wins for Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

Musical Milestones

1962 – Ray Charles enjoys his fifth and final week dominating the pop chart with “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

1973 – George Harrison has the hottest single on the radio for a week with “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth),” from his “Living in the Material World” album.” The track is the ex-Beatles’ second solo No. 1.

1975 – Less than a week after her divorce from Sonny Bono is finalized, Cher ties the knot with rock musician Gregg Allman only to divorce him 10 days later.

1984 – “The Reflex,” by Duran Duran, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

1990 – New Kids On the Block step to the top of the singles chart for three weeks with “Step By Step.” The song is an international smash, selling over 10 million copies worldwide, and becomes one of the biggest selling singles of 1990.

2001 – “Lady Marmalade,” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink, enters its fifth and final week as a chart-topper. The cover is from the “Moulin Rouge!” soundtrack.

2007 – Rihanna and Jay-Z rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “Umbrella.”

On this Day June 27

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Celebrity Birthdays

1880 – Author, political activist and educator Helen Keller, who overcame the adversity of being blind and deaf to become one of the 20th century’s leading humanitarians (d. 1968)

1899 – Commercial aviation pioneer Juan Trippe, an entrepreneur and founder of Pan American World Airways (Pan-Am), one of the iconic airlines of the 20th century (d. 1981)

1927 – TV producer-actor Bob Keeshan (“Captain Kangaroo”) (d. 2004)

1930 – Texas billionaire-former presidential candidate Ross Perot

1949 – Fashion designer Vera Wang

1966 – Emmy-winning director-producer-screenwriter J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Fringe,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Super 8,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”)

1975 – Actor Tobey Maguire (“The Ice Storm,” “Pleasantville,” “The Cider House Rules,” the “Spider-Man” series, “Seabiscuit,” “The Great Gatsby”)

1984 – Reality star Khloe Kardashian (“Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “The X Factor”)

1986 – Actor and singer-songwriter Drake Bell, whose career got a boost from Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh” show

History Highlights

1939 – One of the most iconic scenes in movie history is filmed. It’s Clark Gable (as Rhett Butler) and Vivien Leigh (as Scarlett O’Hara) parting in “Gone with the Wind.” Director Victor Fleming shoots an extra take of the scene using the alternate line, “Frankly, my dear, I just don’t care,” in case film censors object to the word “damn.” The censors approve the movie but fine producer David O. Selznick $5,000 for including the D-word.

1950 – Two days after communist North Korean forces invade South Korea, the United Nations Security Council approves a U.S.-sponsored resolution calling for military force to defend against the North Korean aggression. President Harry Truman dispatches air and naval troops, leading to three years of U.S. involvement in the Korean War.

1966 – “Dark Shadows,” ABC’s daytime soap opera starring vampires, werewolves and witches, premieres and runs through 1971. It is the first soap to feature the concepts of time travel and a parallel universe.

1976 – The world’s first recorded Ebola virus epidemic begins spreading across the African nation of Sudan. By the time the epidemic is over, 284 cases are reported, with slightly more than half of the victims dying from the disease.

1976 – Members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) hijack an Air France jet en route from Athens to Paris. They divert the flight to Entebbe, Uganda, and hold the passengers hostage for a week until Israeli elite special forces stage a dramatic rescue mission.

1979 – Boxing champion Muhammad Ali holds a press conference in Los Angeles to announce his retirement, however he returns to the ring two years later.

1988 – Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson knocks out challenger Michael Spinks 91 seconds into the first round. The decisive victory leaves the boxing world wondering if anyone can beat “Iron Mike” Tyson.

Musical Milestones

1964 – “A World Without Love,” by Peter and Gordon, begins a week as the No. 1 single. The song was written by Beatles legend Paul McCartney when he was just 16, but is credited as a Lennon-McCartney composition.

1970 – The Jackson 5 kick off two weeks on top of the singles chart with “The Love You Save.” It’s the band’s third of four consecutive chart-topping tracks from the “ABC” album. The others were “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.”

1975 – Entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher finalize their divorce, ending a 10-year marriage. Four days later, Cher weds musician Gregg Allman.

1987 – Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” is the hottest song on the radio. The track remains at No. 1 for two weeks and goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

1992 – “I’ll Be There,” by Mariah Carey featuring Trey Lorenz, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. It’s their cover of the 1970 Jackson 5 hit.

1994 – Aerosmith becomes the first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the Internet. More than 10 thousand CompuServe subscribers download the song “Head First” during the first eight days it’s available.

1998 – “The Boy Is Mine,” by Brandy & Monica, is in the middle of a 13-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas dominate the pop chart for an 11th week with “Boom Boom Pow.” The single remain at No. 1 for one more week.

On this Day June 10

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Celebrity Birthdays

1895 – Hattie McDaniel, first African American actress to receive an Academy Award, which she won for her supporting role as Mammy in “Gone With the Wind” (d. 1952)

1922 – Actress-singer Judy Garland, best known for her role as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” (d. 1969)

1921 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms

1928 – Children’s author-illustrator Maurice Sendak (“Where the Wild Things Are,” “Little Bear”) (d. 2012)

1962 – Actress Gina Gershon (“Showgirls,” “Face/Off,” “The Insider,” “Killer Joe,” “House of Versace”)

1963 – Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn (“Basic Instinct,” “The Firm,” “Big Love,” “Criminal Minds”)

1965 – Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley (“Passenger 57,” the first two “Austin Powers” movies, “Bedazzled”)

1982 – U.S. Olympic champion figure skater Tara Lipinksi

1983 – Actress Leelee Sobieski (“Joan of Arc,” “The Glass House,” “Deep Impact”)

History Highlights

1692 – Bridget Bishop, the first Massachusetts Bay colonist to be tried in the Salem witch trials, is hanged after being found guilty of the practice of witchcraft.

1752 – Benjamin Franklin flies a kite during a thunderstorm and collects ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar, enabling him to demonstrate the connection between lightning and electricity along with an understanding of positive and negative charges. His experiment leads to development of the lightning rod, which grounded buildings thereby helping prevent deadly fires.

1935 – Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as AA, is founded by two recovering alcoholics — Bill W., a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S., an Ohio surgeon. Today, the organization continues to fulfill the pair’s original mission to help alcoholics stop drinking and stay sober.

1943 – Hungarian Laszlo Biro patents the ballpoint pen. In many languages, the word for ballpoint pen is “biro.”

1967 – In the Middle East, the Six-Day War ends when Israel and Syria agree to a U.N.-brokered ceasefire.

1980 – A letter written by imprisoned anti-apartheid crusader Nelson Mandela and smuggled out of Robben Island prison, is shared publicly by the African National Congress (ANC). The letter is a call to arms against apartheid.

2007 – An estimated 12 million viewers tune in to “Made in America” — the final episode of HBO’s critically acclaimed, award-winning Mob family drama, “The Sopranos,” starring James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco and Steven Van Zandt.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Aretha Franklin begins her second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Respect.”

1972 – Sammy Davis, Jr. starts a three-week run with a No. 1 single — his only chart-topper. It’s “Candy Man,” from the movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

1976 – The first concert ever performed at the Seattle Kingdome features Paul McCartney and Wings, and draws a crowd of more than 67,000 — beating the record attendance that The Beatles had a decade earlier at New York’s Shea Stadium.

1978 – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John conquer the singles chart with “You’re The One That I Want,” from the movie in which they co-star: “Grease.”

1989 – Bette Midler tops the singles chart with “Wind Beneath My Wings,” from the film “Beaches.”

1995 – Bryan Adams reigns over the pop chart with “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” The track, from the Johnny Depp movie movie “Don Juan DeMarco,” holds at No. 1 for five weeks.

2000 – The Grammy-winning single “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, begins its tenth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2004 – Pioneering R&B/soul singer Ray Charles (“I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Hit the Road Jack,” “What’d I Say,” “Georgia on My Mind”) — a 1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — dies of complications from liver disease at the age of 73.

On this Day May 3

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Celebrity Birthdays

1469 – Italian philosopher and writer Niccolo Machiavelli (d. 1527)

1903 – Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe-winning singer and actor Bing Crosby (“White Christmas,” “Going My Way,” “High Society”) (d. 1977)

1906 – Oscar-winning actress Mary Astor (“Beau Brummel,” “The Great Lie,” “The Maltese Falcon”) (d. 1987)

1919 – Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter and activist Pete Seeger (d. 2014)

1921 – Boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson (d. 1989)

1932 – Actor, film historian, television host and author Robert Osborne, best known for more than 20 years as the marquee host of the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable channel (d. 2017)

1933 – “The Godfather of Soul,” Grammy-winning singer James Brown (“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (d. 2006)

1934 – Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Frankie Valli, born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, lead singer of The Four Seasons (“Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Sherry,” “Grease”)

1951 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Christopher Cross (“Sailing,” “Ride Like the Wind,” “Arthur’s Theme-Best That You Can Do”)

1975 – Actress Christina Hendricks, best known for her role as Joan Harris in the “Mad Men” TV series

1975 – Actor and tap dancer Dulé Hill (“She’s All That,” “The West Wing,” “Psych”)

History Highlights

1937 – Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” captures the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and becomes one of the best-selling novels of all time.

1948 – The “CBS Evening News” premieres as a 15-minute telecast anchored by Douglas Edwards. He is succeeded in 1962 by Walter Cronkite and the show is expanded to 30 minutes. Subsequent anchors have included Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Katie Couric and Scott Pelley.

1952 – The Kentucky Derby is televised for the first time, and the winner of the 78th Run for the Roses is Hill Gail.

1971 – National Public Radio (NPR) presents its first broadcast, “All Things Considered,” hosted by Robert Conley.

1973 – Chicago’s Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) is topped out as the world’s tallest building. It loses that distinction in 1997 when the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur are completed.

1980 – Thirteen-year-old Cari Lightner of Fair Oaks, California, is killed by a drunk driver while walking to a church carnival. Her tragic death compels her mother, Candy Lightner, to found Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness about driving while intoxicated (DWI) and to promote tough legislation against the crime.

1986 – Fifty-four-year-old Bill Shoemaker, riding 18/1 shot Ferdinand, becomes the oldest jockey ever to win the Kentucky Derby. The victory becomes one of Shoemaker’s 8,833 wins — a record that stands until 1999, when broken by Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Musical Milestones

1969 – The 5th Dimension own the top spot on the singles chart with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures).” The medley was written for the 1967 musical “Hair” and goes on to win both Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group Grammy Awards in 1970.

1975 – Tony Orlando and Dawn start a three-week run at No.1 on the singles chart with “He Don’t Love You, (Like I Love You),” the group’s third chart-topper.

1976 – Paul McCartney & Wings kick off the “Wings Over America” tour at the Tarrant County Convention Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. It is McCartney’s first U.S. concert appearance since The Beatles’ farewell show at Candlestick Park in 1966.

1980 – “Call Me,” by Blondie, is midway through a six-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. The song is from the soundtrack to “American Gigolo,” starring Richard Gere.

1980 – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band begin a six-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “Against The Wind.”

1986 – Robert Palmer has a No. 1 single with “Addicted to Love.” The music video features Palmer singing in front of a band of beautiful women dressed and made up to look alike as they “play” their instruments. It becomes one of the most iconic videos of the 1980s.

1997 – “Hypnotize,” by The Notorious B.I.G., begins three weeks as a Billboard No. 1. However, the hip-hop legend isn’t alive to enjoy the success. He was killed in a Los Angeles drive-by shooting two months earlier.

2008 – “Lollipop,” by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major, negins a week at No. 1 on the singles chart.